Tag Archives: Constitutionality of health reform

As the Supreme Court begins its new term today, speculation begins in earnest about how the high court might rule on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Duncan Lock/GNU Free Documentation License

The Obama administration recently filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta had struck down the law’s requirement that individuals have insurance, because it violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The appeals court decision would allow the rest of the Affordable Care Act to go forward.

Supporters of the Affordable Care Act aren’t the only ones looking to get the Supreme Court involved. A coalition of 26 states that is challenging the law has also petitioned the high court to review the decision of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Those states want the Supreme Court to throw the health law completely.

The Supreme Court justices haven’t officially decided whether they will review the Affordable Care Act. But if they do take on the case, their decision is likely to come in the middle of the 2012 presidential campaign.

Hear more about the legal wrangling in the Oct. 3 edition of Policy & Practice podcast. This week’s podcast also includes new figures on rising health insurance premiums and the latest on a proposal from the Department of Health and Human Services to offer bonus payments to primary care physicians who spend more time with patients and provide intensive disease management.

In the first appellate court decision on health reform, a three-judge panel has ruled that the Affordable Care Act does not violate the Constitution. The ruling was in response to two lawsuits brought by Liberty University and by Virginia’s Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli.

Courtesy iStock

Also, those pushing for an overhaul of the health system might be interested in a new study on physician pay that says that U.S. doctors are paid more than in several other nations. Researchers also found a pay gap between primary care and orthopedic physicians. (To see our story on this, click here.)

In other news, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has eased restrictions on requirements for electronic prescribing.

For details on that and more, check out this week’s Policy & Practice podcast.